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Human Health Effects
Marine & Wildlife
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Comparative assessment of the acute toxicity of commercial bio-based polymer leachates on marine plankton
The Science of The Total Environment2024
27 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 65
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Filipe Laranjeiro,
Ricardo Beiras,
Marta Sampalo,
Marta Sampalo,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Ricardo Beiras,
Jérôme Cachot,
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Marta Sampalo,
Marta Sampalo,
Anna Rotander,
Ricardo Beiras,
Anna Rotander,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Ricardo Beiras,
Ricardo Beiras,
Ricardo Beiras,
Juan Bellas,
Diego Rial,
Juan Bellas,
Ricardo Beiras,
Ricardo Beiras,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Fredric Seilitz,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Ricardo Beiras,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Filipe Laranjeiro,
Christelle Clérandeau
Jérôme Cachot,
Anna Rotander,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Ricardo Beiras,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Christelle Clérandeau
Diego Rial,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Sara López‐Ibáñez,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Fredric Seilitz,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Ricardo Beiras,
Ricardo Beiras,
Ricardo Beiras,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Diego Rial,
Sara López‐Ibáñez,
Sara López‐Ibáñez,
Christelle Clérandeau
Filipe Laranjeiro,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Christelle Clérandeau
Rodrigo Almeda,
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Christelle Clérandeau
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Anna Rotander,
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Anna Rotander,
Juan Bellas,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Alejandro Vilas,
Alejandro Vilas,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Juan Bellas,
Alejandro Vilas,
Alejandro Vilas,
Alejandro Vilas,
Juan Bellas,
Alejandro Vilas,
Alejandro Vilas,
Juan Bellas,
Alejandro Vilas,
Anna Rotander,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Juan Bellas,
Anna Rotander,
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Juan Bellas,
Anna Rotander,
Fredric Seilitz,
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Ricardo Beiras,
Ricardo Beiras,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Fredric Seilitz,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau
Juan Bellas,
Jérôme Cachot,
Christelle Clérandeau
Ricardo Beiras,
Ricardo Beiras,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Ricardo Beiras,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Ricardo Beiras,
Jérôme Cachot,
Ricardo Beiras,
Ricardo Beiras,
Sara López‐Ibáñez,
Ricardo Beiras,
Juan Bellas,
Jérôme Cachot,
Anna Rotander,
Marta Sampalo,
Marta Sampalo,
Christelle Clérandeau
Anna Rotander,
Diego Rial,
Christelle Clérandeau
Anna Rotander,
Anna Rotander,
Ricardo Beiras,
Jérôme Cachot,
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau
Marta Sampalo,
Marta Sampalo,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Ricardo Beiras,
Juan Bellas,
Juan Bellas,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Diego Rial,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Ricardo Beiras,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Juan Bellas,
Ricardo Beiras,
Jérôme Cachot,
Ricardo Beiras,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Christelle Clérandeau
Jérôme Cachot,
Ricardo Beiras,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Sara López‐Ibáñez,
Ricardo Beiras,
Ricardo Beiras,
Jérôme Cachot,
Christelle Clérandeau
Jérôme Cachot,
Diego Rial,
Jérôme Cachot,
Ricardo Beiras,
Rodrigo Almeda,
Jérôme Cachot,
Ricardo Beiras,
Christelle Clérandeau
Christelle Clérandeau,
Jérôme Cachot,
Jérôme Cachot,
Christelle Clérandeau,
Christelle Clérandeau
Summary
Researchers tested the toxicity of chemicals leaching from biodegradable plastics — including polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxybutyrate-covalerate (PHBv) — on five marine species, finding that PHBv leachates were up to 10 times more toxic than conventional polypropylene. The results show that labeling a plastic as "biodegradable" does not guarantee it is safe for marine ecosystems.
Conventional plastics have become a major environmental concern due to their persistence and accumulation in marine ecosystems. The development of potential degradable polymers (PBP), such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and polylactic acid (PLA), has gained attention as an alternative to mitigate plastic pollution, since they have the potential to biodegrade under certain conditions, and their production is increasing as replacement of conventional polyolefins. This study aimed to assess and compare the toxicity of leachates of pre-compounding PBP (PLA and the PHA, polyhydroxybutyrate-covalerate (PHBv)) and polypropylene (PP) on five marine planktonic species. A battery of standard bioassays using bacteria, microalgae, sea urchin embryos, mussel embryos and copepod nauplii was conducted to assess the toxicity of leachates from those polymers. Additionally, the presence of chemical additives in the leachates was also verified through GC-MS and LC-HRMS analysis. Results showed that PHBv leachates exhibited higher toxicity compared to other polymers, with the microalgae Rhodomonas salina, being the most sensitive species to the tested leachates. On the other hand, PP and PLA generally displayed minimal to no toxicity in the studied species. Estimated species sensitivity distribution curves (SSD) show that PHBv leachates can be 10 times more hazardous to marine plankton than PP or PLA leachates, as demonstrated by the calculated Hazardous Concentration for 5 % of species (HC<sub>5</sub>). Qualitative chemical analysis supports the toxicological results, with 80 % of compounds being identified in PHBv leachates of which 2,4,6-trichlorophenol is worth mentioning due to the deleterious effects to aquatic biota described in literature. These findings underscore the fact that whereas environmental persistence can be targeted using PBP, the issue of chemical safety remains unsolved by some alternatives, such as PHBv. Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the toxicity profiles of PBP materials through a priori toxicological risk assessment is vital for their responsible application as alternatives to conventional plastics.